A sermon preached at Kowloon Union
Church on Sunday 14 August 2016, the thirteen Sunday after
Pentecost, by Rune Nielsen. The scripture readings that day
were Hebrews 11:29-12:2, Isaiah 5:1-7, Luke 12:49-56.
“Do you think I have come to bring
peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in
one household will be divided, three against two and two against three…” Jesus’
words in the twelfth chapter of Luke are scary—there’s no doubt about that. The
Jesus who was the gentle shepherd, the man who shone with divine love, the one
who said ‘let the children come to me’—it seems that Jesus is now telling his
disciples that he is leading society towards chaos and destruction. Differences
between people, whether religious, political, or economic, can lead us to
division, a state of tension, distrust, and intolerance. Division is painful.
It can give us feelings of fear, suspicion, rejection, and hate. In fact, the
corresponding passage in Matthew 10:34-36 uses the word “sword” instead of
“division.” Truly, division can wound us
deeper than any cut.
Jesus is no stranger to division. With
every teaching he gave, every act of healing he performed, some people chose to
distrust him or despise him. In the fifth chapter of Mark, Jesus delivers a man
from demons by sending the evil spirits into the bodies of pigs, which then
drown themselves in the sea. The healed man is grateful and becomes a follower
of Jesus, but the other people in the town get bitter about the loss of the
pigs and insist that Jesus leave. Another example of division can be seen in
the fifth chapter of Luke when Jesus heals a paralytic. Jesus forgives the
man’s sins and the Pharisees get angry, accusing him of blasphemy. While the
Pharisees regard Jesus with disgust, the rest of the watching crowd is happy
about what Jesus has done, and praise God. And there are many more stories of
division springing up from the words and acts of Jesus. As stated by a Bible
commentator, in today’s gospel reading “Jesus is not affirming nor encouraging
the division but naming the reality that was occurring around him.” Jesus
challenged religious leaders as well as believers to open their minds and
hearts to his message of love for all people. This upset the status quo, which
led to division.
Jesus did not say we should make
division. He did not teach his followers to avoid anyone who thought
differently. Jesus reached out to Samaritans, people whose practices deviated
from the Jewish standard. Jesus made friends with criminals. He defended people
of low social standing. When some people see differences, they put up social
walls, leading to division. When God sees division, he passes through the
barriers.
Differences occur as people adopt
different beliefs, but division is not God’s goal. In today’s gospel reading
Jesus is speaking out of a context of anguish and strife as he sees the
division happening around him. This stands in contrast to how at the time of
Jesus’ birth the angels were singing of peace to come, as stated at the
beginning of Luke’s gospel. And when the gospel ends, the resurrected Jesus
greets his disciples not with a message of division, but with “Shalom,” a word
of peace.*
Since the beginning Christ’s followers
have found themselves divided from other people, and so do we today. Some of us
come from divided households where it is not two against three, but four
against one and one against four. Painful, heart-aching division. Is this the
cost of following Jesus? In drastic situations of fierce disagreement, the
people we love may separate themselves from us, and other times we may feel
forced to separate from them. Sometimes we cannot prevent separation, and once
it happens we may feel broken and scattered from the division.
We are aware that in Hong Kong and many
other parts of the world Christians are a minority group. Even if your whole
family is Christian, you likely know people at school or work who are not, and
probably have friends who are non-Christian. How should we view them?
When we look at the world, we know our
Christian lives are different. Our beliefs are different. Our practices are
different. Considering all of that, is it the fate of Christians to shut
ourselves away from non-Christians? To flaunt our differences and only associate
with people who believe the same things we do? Should we retreat behind the
line of the divide in our own societies? I’ve met a Christian family in Hong
Kong who only allows their children to associate with other Christians. Their
children, who go to Christian schools, are not allowed to have non-Christian
friends or go to social activities where non-Christians are present. When they
see a doctor or dentist, they only choose ones that are Christian. Clearly,
they are afraid of non-Christians. They use the differences between them and
others to build up division.
But differences don’t have to lead to
division.
When I went on a study trip to
Indonesia last summer, I met a woman who lived in what could have been a
divided household. She and her parents were devoutly Christian, and living with
them were her devoutly Muslim aunt, uncle, and cousins. The Muslims did all the
things devoted Muslims do—they worshipped at a mosque, fasted during Ramadan,
prayed to Allah five times a day, and so on. The Christians did all the things
devoted Christians do—they attended services at a church, read the Bible, and
prayed to God. And all of these relatives live peacefully side by side,
enjoying their life together. They respect each other and do not let their
differences tear them apart into division. The Christian woman told me her
views on her Muslim relatives. “We pray for them, as we would pray for all
other people we know, both Christians and non-Christians. And we keep living
our Christian lives in a display of God’s love for all people.”
Although not all families of mixed
faiths are able to live in harmony like that, the example of the household in
Indonesia reminds us that differences do not have to drive people away from
each other, whether at home or in broader society. It also highlights the
importance of prayer, taking your concerns about division to God and trusting
God. While interacting with non-Christians you might not see conversions, but
that doesn’t mean God has abandoned our non-Christian relatives, friends, and
neighbors.
In today’s gospel reading and in our
lives, differences themselves are not the real problem. According to the
preacher Erick J. Thompson, we would be mistaken to focus on the differences we
face. There will always be differences in all areas of life because people will
disagree with each other and have different opinions. The real issue at hand is
how we respond to division. Some Christians have a zeal for bringing people
from one side of the divide to the other. Of course we want everyone to know
God loves them! But if we are forceful about God’s message, we will only widen
the gap. Thompson says that “the gospel preached into the life of an individual
person will do its work, and we are left to trust that it is God at work, and
resist our attempts to control the outcome.”
Of course, being Christian does not
make us perfect. Jesus alone is the perfecter of our faith, not ourselves. At
times we Christians are like the ancient Israelites spoken of in the book of
Isaiah. Through Isaiah, God said that they were like a vineyard expected to
produce edible grapes but instead produced wild ones. The Israelites were God’s
chosen people, yet even they were not perfect. Christians are not superior to
other people. In our own religion we worship within differences—Orthodox,
Protestant, Catholic. Yet despite these differences, we have been able to
cooperate to do great things. Every year on Unity Sunday representatives from
different churches in Hong Kong come together for a joint worship service. Speakers
from Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic churches all contribute to the
Christian radio programs overseen by the Religious Broadcasting and Television
Advisory Committee. And some churches are carrying out joint volunteer efforts
at Christian NGOs. If we can work together with people who have denominational
differences, then surely we can also work together with non-Christians.
Being around non-Christians can provide
us with opportunities to reflect on our own faith. It makes us ask important
questions we need to answer for ourselves and those we share our faith with.
Questions include: What do I value about Christianity? Why have I chosen
Christianity instead of another religion? How can I communicate Christianity to
other people? When we answer these questions, we can find that the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit are bringing
us closer to God.
Yes, there is division, but it doesn’t
have to prevail over us. We can overcome division from God’s perspective, a
perspective of peace for all people and prayer for reconciliation. The divide
is not impassible and it is not permanent. God passes through the division and
cares for Christians and non-Christians alike. On the other side of any
division, Christ is also there among the nonbelievers, acting in their lives,
and patiently waiting for them to follow him. God does not give up on
non-Christians!
We are not always in control of
division, but God’s love has no boundaries. Let us live in that love and share
it with all.
*idea taken from
http://revplockhart.blogspot.hk/2013/08/fire-division-not-peace.html
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, August 14, 2016
